The Stolen Boy
by Tamerlein
Summary: Lost in the woods, Edmund searched for his family. However, he was found by something very different to what he was expecting. Raised by Jadis, The White Witch as her heir from the age of four, Edmund lost all memory of his first family, and embraced the chill of the second. Then the horns of war start to sound...
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The boy stumbled deeper into the forest, lost, alone and confused. He didn't know where he was, or how to get back. All he knew was that it was _cold. _So cold. The perpetual chilling frost encompassed his skin, and yet he did not fight it. He welcomed it, for reasons that he himself was not sure of. The trees, like silent pillars were still, absorbing what little light that could have made it to the forest floor. All the boy could hear was the soft crunch as he trod on, bewildered. His siblings had abandoned him, his parents had forgotten him, and his life was quickly fading from him. And yet, there was subtle movement. Though he did not yet know it, his salvation was stalking him.

**A/N: First FanFic for me, and to be honest, I've got no clue what the hell I'm doing. Rated T to be safe and in case violence and gore decides to come its ****way. I like the idea of a family betrayal because I'm a dark and twisted person, and we all love those. The plot and story is in no way related to that of The Chronicles of Narnia. I have simply twisted the situation of the Pevensie family so that they are all Narnians. I haven't fully read the books, so you'll have to forgive me all of you people who know your Narnian history, as I will be making lots of it up.**

**C.S Lewis owns everything except the plot.**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: By the way, this is definitely an AU.**

**Chapter 1**

Two of the four Pevensie children were in the sea, dancing about and splashing each other. The youngest one was playing in the sand by their parents, whilst the second youngest watched both parties sullenly, wondering what it would be like to do something like that. The boy could never really stomach the happy activities of his siblings. Then again, he couldn't help the slight wistful feeling in his body, his childish instincts naturally yearning for fun.

"Aren't you going to play with your brother and sisters Edmund?" came a deep voice from behind.

Edmund turned around to see his father watching him with a sad smile on his face.

The four-year old felt confused at the question, and asked "Why?"

His father's expression went even more tender, and he said "To have fun. To enjoy yourself."

Edmund didn't understand what his father was asking of him, and just turned around to face the sea. The wind tousled his brown hair into his eyes, making him squint. The sun's bright rays reflected off the shimmering surface, and made his eyes hurt. So he closed them.

His father sighed and went back to his wife, who had watched the exchange with apprehension.

"Everything alright?" she asked. She had always pondered on her quiet, pale younger son.

"Nothing out of the ordinary." he replied, sounding tired. He continued to watch Edmund until the other two got bored wandered back to their parents. Their tan faces were bright with perspiration and enthusiasm - A stark contrast to the pale figure sitting by his lonesome on a rock.

"Dad, can we go back now?" asked the cheerful voice of their eldest, Peter.

Their father looked at his children, and his face softened. "Of course. Could one of you get Edmund?" he said.

Peter looked at his brother, and in his naïvety raced to get him. He grabbed the slender wrist and pulled, saying "Come on, Ed!" He seemingly didn't notice the flicker of annoyance on the younger boy's face, and just continued to pull him towards the rest of the family, exasperatedly.

**A/N: Yes, I know this chapter is ridiculously short. Just bear with me...**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: I have no idea what the name of the Pevensie father is, and if I only named their mother it would look weird. Anyone know, be free to tell me. **

**Chapter 2**

"Peter, can you get Susan out of the library? She's probably still reading that book." their mother shouted. She then looked down at her other son and said "Edmund, can you go and get Lucy from her bedroom?"

The boy simply nodded and made his way to his sisters' bedroom. Their mother watched him leave with a heavy heart and then turned to her husband. "Getting the children together is almost impossible now." she said dryly.

"That statement's becoming more and more true the older they get." mumbled her husband, as she laughed.

"Do you know when Aslan's arriving?" she asked.

"He said once the sun was directly above our heads. And it looks like that time now." he said, in a muted level of anticipation.

"Ed, look what I can do!" came Peter's voice behind them. They turned and saw as Peter attempted to twirl his new sword, but ended up hitting Edmund on the head.

"Best put that sword down before you kill someone, little one." The voice was deep and rich, and exuded power and warmth. The Great Lion stood in the middle of the garden, his warm brown eyes watching the eldest's antics with amusement.

"Aslan!" exclaimed the parents in tandem.

The mother turned to her children and explained to them who Aslan was, whilst the father talked with him.

"Aslan, I would like to introduce our children - Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy."

The Lion turned his eyes to each one as they were introduced, and his eyes seemed to sparkle.

"As-lah?" Lucy gurgled with delight and reached for Aslan.

The lion laughed a rumbling laugh, and padded over to the youngest child, sitting in the grass. He sat with her and began to talk to her in soft, lilting tones. The rest of the family, excluding one, were entranced by his voice, and sat next to Lucy, to listen to whatever tale Aslan was spinning.

Edmund watched them all, and could not help but feel a slight tinge of bitterness. Anyone would think they were the perfect family, if not for the abnormal one, the anomaly. It was at this moment that Aslan turned to look at the boy, and quietly walked over to him.

"Do not let your differences with your family separate you." His voice and tone was gentle, trying not to scare the pale boy. "After all, it is our differences that make us who we are." And with that he left the boy's side, and seemed unaware of the piercing gaze on his back.

**A/N: If you think Aslan was too cheesy, tell me (rudely if you like), because I hate cheesiness as much as any insane person would.**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm pleasantly surprised that people are actually reading this. Low self-esteem I have, I know. Everyone loves an underdog. Not sure how that's relevant, but I've never really been one for tradition (reference x2). By the way, the mother and father in this story are the king and queen, with their children the heirs (princesses and princes). That's why Aslan visited them, and why they just happen to be in Cair Paravel. Convenient, I know. Anyone got some names I can give to their parents do tell.**

**Chapter ****3**

Edmund was walking through the halls of Cair Paravel, when he saw a flicker of white. He looked out of the window and saw tiny snowflakes falling from the clear sky. It was the middle of Autumn, and it was snowing. Hoping to look more like his siblings, Edmund went to his parents and asked if he could 'play' outside. He still wasn't certain about that word 'play', but had heard it from Peter numerous times, thus assuming that it was a good word.

His mother was busy trying to get Lucy to stop eating her fingers, whilst his father was attempting to teach Peter a few sword fighting skills within the castle. He wasn't really getting anywhere, but was being patient.

Both only looked down and said "Later, Ed."

Edmund, slightly annoyed at the way his parents had brushed him off so absent-mindedly, decided to go off by himself to inspect the new novelty. The dark trees of the forest were silent as they watched the young boy examine the snow. Wondering if the snow was the same in the forest as on the castle grounds, Edmund walked into the woods.

Edmund had never been in the woods before, and was inspecting the frost-ridden trees with interest. Turning his head, he saw that they were all very similar.

Meanwhile, he was stumbling deeper in. Once he had realised that the snow was no different, he also realised a very different thing - He had no idea how to get back.

However before he could start in the direction which he hoped was back home, out of the corner of his eye he saw something in the snow. Four marks, three of equal size, with one being double. It was a paw print, larger than a dog, smaller than a bear. And although Edmund wasn't an expect in tracking, he could tell it was new.

**A/N: Which brings us back to the prologue. I'm not sure how to incorporate the prologue into the story, but I'll think of something. I'll also soon get to the point where I can stop with these short chapters and go into longer ones. Yay for me. Did they have dogs in Narnia? If not then I just brought them into it. And yes I can do things like that.**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm just going to use random names from the Chronicles of Narnia for the characters in this story, so this will likely annoy lots of you. But where's the fun in life without annoyance?**

**Chapter 4**

Peter stared at the ceiling. Lying on his bed, he played with his practice sword, passing it from hand to hand. His eyes went to the window again, checking for the snow that Edmund had said was falling. He saw nothing. It was odd though - His brother wasn't one for fabricating stories for attention. Why should he have started now? He felt like something wrong, but ignored the feeling, and continued to play with his sword. Suddenly he felt the bed dip.

"Pete, you alright?" Peter dropped the sword to the side of the bed and sat up against his pillow. "You seem a bit forlorn." His mother was peering into his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Edmund said it was snowing earlier. I just don't really know why." said Peter, giving a slightly confused smile to his mother.

Their mother's brows came together in a worried line. She also looked at the window, and said "Yes, he said something about that to me earlier. Do you know where he is? I came up looking for him."

"No, I haven't seen him." Realisation crept across Peter's features, and he asked her "You don't think he could have gone outside by himself, do you?"

Their mother watched him for a few seconds before her expression cleared slightly. "No, he probably just went to find Lucy. Or Susan." It sounded like she was trying to convince herself at that point.

The mother and son then just looked at each other, and then immediately left the room to find their sisters. However, Edmund wasn't with either of them. Susan said she hadn't seen him, and Lucy didn't really understand what was going on.

They went to their father's study, who was discussing matters with a Faun. Moments later, the whole Pevensie family, excluding Edmund, was sitting down, with the King's head in his hands. "Would he have gone out?" the King sighed.

Just then there was a knock at the door. Another Faun's head peered in, and said "Pardon me, Your Majesties, but I earlier saw Edmund outside by himself. I was just wondering whether he should have been outside alone.

Their father took a brief look out of the window, but it was long enough for his face to pale and blanch, and his hand go to his sword hilt. "Fetch me my horse. Now!"

"Dad? What's going on?" Susan was confused.

"Have you seen outside?" he said between gritted teeth.

They were all confused, and went outside onto the castle grounds. As soon as they came into sight Peter's jaw dropped open, and Susan gasped. "What happened?" All of the castle grounds were covered in white, including the surrounding trees. Their mother turned to their father.

"What evil could have done this?", covering her face with her hands.

"That's what I need to find out." the King said, as he leapt up onto the horse that had been brought to him.

"Wait, Dad! I'm coming with you!" Peter planted himself in front of his father's horse.

His father's gaze softened as he looked down onto his son, "You can't Peter." he said, gently.

"Why? He's my brother!" shouted Peter, becoming upset.

"You have responsibilities here, Peter. And I fear this will be far too dangerous."

Peter clenched his jaw, and holding back unshed tears, he reluctantly moved out of the way.

The King looked at his wife, who was looking back at him with tears trickling down her face. _Look after them_, he mouthed to her. She nodded weakly.

Susan, who now understood what was going on, collapsed into Peter, burying her face in his chest, finally collapsing into tears.

**A/N: Yay, a slightly longer chapter. I like the word slightly. Not sure why. Anyway, the story's sort of finally moving forward.**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: I had to write this bloody chapter twice because stupid computer crashed. Feel sympathy for me. **

**Chapter 5**

Edmund collapsed against the base of a tree, both mentally and physically drained. His eye lids drooped, his body went slack, and his mouth relaxed. He slumped against the wood, fighting to keep his eyes open. Inevitably, he succumbed to the temptation of sleep, and finally closed his eyes. He knew his family wouldn't be able to find him. He thought they wouldn't even try. He always was the outcast...

He curled up against the trunk of the tree, managing to keep the tears from falling - they would only freeze on his face. He heard a slight rustling to his right. He dimly opened his eyes, and saw a large four-legged silhouette pad silently across to him. He let his eye lids fall again. _He always was the outcast._

* * *

The black wolf, named Maugrim, padded over to the small boy and nudged him with his nose. The boy's eyes flickered open, before closing again. The wolf licked his cheek in reassurance. After staring at the boy for a few seconds he sat on his haunches, threw back his head, and let out a huge howl, calling the other members of the pack. He then lay down next to the boy and covered his body with his own body heat. Feeling a little protective, he gently nudge the boy's face, trying to coerce him into waking up.

The heavy panting alerted Maugrim to the arrival of his pack. He raised his head in a very wolf-like fashion, and met the eyes of his pack. They were all staring at the pale boy by their leader's side.

"We should take him back." rumbled one of the wolves, who had cocked his head at the strange boy.

"I agree. We'll have to carry him." Maugrim, with the help of another wolf, managed to shuffle the boy onto his back. The boy's limbs fell securely on either side of the wolf's back, adding substantial balance.

"Go. Alert the Queen."

With a quick nod, four of the wolves turned around and raced towards the White Witch's home. Maugrim followed, at a much slower rate, careful not to jostle the frail creature on his back.

**A/N: This is from two third person point of views. Which does make sense. And hey, I used a line to indicate it. The second point of view is from Maugrim, who will be OOC ****_only _****to Edmund. Hopefully. He's only nice to Edmund basically. I enjoy writing these A/Ns. The chapter would have gone on for longer, but I just felt like it was a good place to stop.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Three weeks later the King and his search party returned, exhausted and drained. Their arrival was signalled by horns which rang throughout the castle, bringing the whole Pevensie family out onto the castle grounds. There they stood waiting with eager faces, for information on their lost family member.

The King dismounted, and walked slowly over to his family, and gave a despairing shake of his head. Susan felt the burn of tears, the Queen put her fist into her mouth, whilst Peter held his head in his hands.

Their father hugged them all, and whispered hoarsely "I'm sorry. We found nothing. No tracks, no clothes, not even a smell." Their mother finally succumbed to tears, and buried her head into her husband's chest, sobbing.

Peter said in a dull voice "Nothing at all?" His father gave him a sad look, which sent him walking towards the castle with his fists clenched.

"Peter?" asked Susan.

"Leave him be." said their mother, soothingly. "He needs some time alone."

Peter took slow steady steps to his room. His room which, even after three weeks, still felt empty. He flinched as he remembered the last thing he had done to his brother - Attract the attention of his father from Edmund all for his selfish want to sword fight.

"Pete?" The childish yet innocent voice brought him out of his reverie, and caused him to look down at his baby sister, Lucy.

He picked her up and sat her on his bed. "Hey, Lu." he said in a low voice.

Lucy put her tiny hand on his cheek and said "Pete sad?", whilst searching his face with her large brown eyes.

Peter took his sister's hand and held it there. "Yeah. Pete sad." barely concealing a sob.

* * *

"He's young." The White Witch was impressed, a rare occurrence.

"We think he's one of the Pevensie brood, Your Majesty." Maugrim said with trepidation. He knew the consequences of being wrong.

"Yes... I had heard that there was one who was always an outcast." Jadis said, inspecting the boy's face.

_He always was an outcast._

The words fell on his ears like drums, and his eyes flicked open. They immediately widened as he caught view of the massive, coal-black wolf who was no more than a meter away from him. He recoiled very slightly, staring at the scarred face who gazed back at him. The wolf said nothing and merely looked at his Queen.

"Take him to a room with a bed in it. He looks like he could use it." the Witch said, with the merest trace of warmth in her tone. "Wait! What is your name, boy?"

"Edmund." Edmund. Spoken with no hesitation, not crying out with fear, or stuttering from the cold. He just seemed... acceptant.

"Come with me, Edmund." Maugrim nudged the boy into standing and started to lead him to his room. The boy relied heavily on the wolf, clinging to the fur on his back to prevent him from collapsing. After having been so near death, the Witch expected him to be in a much worse state.

She watched them leave, and then thought to herself. _Why was he not scared or cold..._

**A/N: Ta da. Peter's a mess, and Edmund's fine. You can feel the chemistry between those two.**


	8. Time Passes

_All things it devours;_

_Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;_

_Gnaws iron, bites steel;_

_Grinds hard bones to meal;_

_Slays Kings, ruins town_

_And beats high mountain down._

**-Gollum, The Hobbit.**

* * *

The passing of time is a fickle thing. You may never know when it will affect you. It affects some things greatly, others very little. For example, the hollowness that the Pevensie's felt at the loss of Edmund changed very little. Incongruently, Edmund himself changed largely. He transitioned from a quiet, remote boy, to a lean, cold thirteen-year old.

His time spent in the White Witch's palace had cause the magic that permitted the air to have an effect on him. His eyes were now blue, he could withstand freezing temperatures, and he had completely forgotten all about his previous family. However, one sentence always came back to him, every night. _He always was an outcast._

His body had become as lithe and lean as the sword he wielded. He had been moulded into a deadly weapon, agile and fast. Most of the Witch's army were in awe and terror of him, as he had become known for his merciless ways, and his cruel treatment to traitors. The wolves who had found him alone in the forest all those long years ago were the only ones who were able to be in his company without becoming uneasy. His dark hair had grown to his chin, long enough to make him look all the more intimidating.

_He always was an outcast._

**A/N: Just as a matter of interest, who knew the answer to J.R.R Tolkien's riddle? I'd be interested to know. This isn't an actual chapter, it's just a sort of interlude to signify time passing. For those of you who can't do maths, nine years have passed.**


	9. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm going to be a bit slower on updates now, mainly for two reasons. I'm back at school with many exams and I've got my grade 7 piano exam in two weeks. Once that's over with I'll be able to devote a bit more time to this. I'm typing this at 1:30 in the morning, and I am exhausted. And I've got a bloody French Oral tomorrow.**

**Chapter 7**

Edmund stared at the fox with cold blue eyes. He was leaning against a tree with his arms folded, looking deceptively bored.

"Did you think you were going to get away with it, fox? Did it never occur to you that someone might have seen you give directions to the Faun spy? Or perhaps you were hoping that he was going to take you with him. Surely you're not trying to flee the forest, are you?" His voice had gone dangerously sarcastic.

The fox, a terrified frozen creature, looked up into the remote face, searching for a shred of humanity. He found none. In a flash of bravery, he said "Fleeing the forest would be the wisest thing for any creature to do."

Edmund had gone deadly silent. The fox shrank back against a tree, knowing he had gone to far. When Edmund spoke again his voice was a mockery of friendly. "I'm going to give you a choice, fox. Either I kill you here and now, or I take you back to the palace where you can become a beautiful statue to decorate the hall."

The fox now knew he had no chance, and turned tail and fled. A small dagger came out of nowhere and landed clean in between the ribs. "Wrong choice." Edmund sighed. He turned the fox onto his belly and removed the dagger from the corpse. Then, without a backwards glance, he turned and started to walk in the direction that the fox had come from - No doubt hoping to lead him away from the fox's family. A mistake on his part.

After a few minutes of walking, Edmund came to a den. The mother, who had had been at the entrance anxiously waiting for the father's return, felt a cold claw of fear grab hold of her as soon as she saw the pale figure. A tiny whimper escaped her muzzle.

"Don't make a sound, fox. It will make this process a lot messier and more annoying." said Edmund. He stared at the female fox hard, until saying quietly to himself, "Such a waste..."

"P-please! My children did nothing wrong, spare the–"

"Oh please shut up. If there's one thing I hate, it's begging and pleading. You knew what your mate was doing, and now you must pay the price."

"My child–" her voice turned into a high pitched yelp as her life ended swiftly and brutally.

"Is it that hard to die quietly?" Edmund asked the dead body. He kicked the den down, and two more high pitched yelps could be heard moments later.

_He always was an outcast._

With his job done, Edmund took a quick look around, making sure no enemy had seen him, before he slowly started making his way back to his home. However, out of his peripheral vision, Edmund caught a quick glimpse of a hoof print. He was instantly on the alert, and drew his sword. He went over to the track and saw that it was fresh - almost new. He also recognised that it wasn't a horse track. Which meant it could be only one thing. _Centaur._

"Maugrim!" Edmund roared.

A few moments later a couple of wolves emerged from the undergrowth, and immediately bowed their bodies.

"My Lord?" the slightly larger one asked.

Edmund couldn't help the slight smile as he saw his childhood friend. He inclined his head at the track. The wolves instantly started sniffing the trodden snow, and the younger one said "We've picked up the scent."

"Follow the trail, and deal with the centaur, unless it's managed to get back to its land. It was probably a friend of the foxes, or a fellow spy. If you do find it, subdue it and bring it back. We can interrogate him." Edmund ordered.

"Yes, My Lord." and they started racing off through the trees. Edmund watched them run, before shaking his head slightly, and running back to his home.

**A/N: I've been waiting to write one of these chapters. It didn't quite come out as I planned it, but I'm fairly happy with the result. Now I'm going to try my best to get some much needed sleep.**


	10. Chapter 8

**A/N: The updates won't be as quick as before, now that I'm back at school. Sorry.**

**Chapter 8**

"Your Majesty? Roonwit had returned." The messenger Faun tentatively peeked inside the room. The King looked up from his perusal of the maps at the interruption, before brows met.

"So early? Where is he? I would like to speak with him."

"He's at the armoury, Your Majesty."

"Thank you Volnus. You may go." The Faun bowed and left. The King made his way to the armoury, pondering on this turn of events. Surely he hadn't been chased away?

The centaur turned at the sound of the King's footsteps and bowed. "Your Majesty." he said, with a tinge of exhaustion in his voice.

"Roonwit. Why are you back so early? Your job was to stay there until you had reliable and dependable information." The King's voice was slightly acerbic, knowing that they could not afford any slip-ups.

"I apologise, Your Majesty, but the boy I was tailing was far more intelligent and resourceful than I anticipated. I had two wolves chasing me. He must have caught sight my tracks." The centaur was a bit bitter that he had been outwitted by a boy.

Surprise flickered over the King's face. "Boy? What boy?" He had heard nothing of a boy.

"He killed Alastair. Along with his family." said Roonwit, with disgust in his voice.

"How did the fox die?" asked the King, saddened by the death of a loyal Narnian.

"A knife between the ribs. As far as I can tell, the boy is the heir to the White Witch, and easily just as cruel as her."

"An heir?" whispered the King. "How could this happen? When?"

"I know not, Your Majesty. He detected me too soon." Roonwit was apologetic.

The King's face had paled. An heir would mean devastation, and from Roonwit's description of him, a force to be reckoned with. "We cannot allow this heir to live. Send for Oreius. I need him."

"Your Majesty." Roonwit said, bowing respectfully before exiting the armoury.

The King sat on a box, running his hand through his thick hair. A few minutes later he heard the quiet clop of a horse walking slowly. He turned his head to see Oreius standing by the door to the armoury, with Peter behind him. They must have been training.

"You sent for me, Your Majesty?" The centaur general's voice rumbled through his powerful chest

"Yes. I need you to do something for me."

The King explained the situation to Oreius, who listened intently, before bowing and taking his leave. Peter looked at his father with wide eyes. The King nodded sadly and sighed.

"We don't know how she has one. But apparently he's very dangerous, and unfortunately unusually competent with a sword." A thought entered the King's head and he took a step towards his son. "Promise you won't go after him, Peter. I fear he's more dangerous then we realise."

Peter nodded, reluctantly.

* * *

Edmund stood on the ice sheet, looking at his Queen's home. _His home. _The palace glowed eerily, warning off strangers and intimidating enemies. It was beautiful and deadly, much like the Queen herself. Edmund sensed someone watching him and turned to the bush, where a massive black wolf emerged. Edmund nodded and raised an eyebrow. The wolf shook his head, answering the unspoken question with the tiniest hint of fear. Everyone knew the consequences of failing the heir.

Edmund sighed and turned his face back to the ice palace. The wolf padded over to him and nudged his hand. Edmund looked down and briefly smiled, before he said "We cannot allow something like that to happen again, Maugrim."

"It won't, My Lord." Maugrim said.

Edmund nodded. The harsh wind tousled his hair, causing it to fall across his face. He swept it clear, before saying "Come. It's time we returned." He began to walk across the frozen ice sheet, towards his home. The wolf walked by his side, saying nothing.

**A/N: I like to think that my computer wants to crash as soon as I press save. Because then it does crash, and leaves the document unsaved. Yay for me.**


	11. Chapter 9

**A/N: I'm averaging 510 words for each chapter so far, which I'm not happy about. So, I will do my best to rectify this. Edmund never tried to get back to his family for many reasons - foremost among these was that he actually did forget about them (hey, the Witch was a native of Charn, so her magic would have been powerful).**

**Chapter 9**

The ogre on guard bowed to Edmund and signalled for the door to be opened. Edmund strode into the Ice Hall, his feet making no sound against the frozen floor. The White Witch herself was sitting on her throne. Her eyes never left the form of the young boy, with a cold smile on her lips. The boy knelt in front of the steps leading up to the throne, his arm curled across his knee. "My Queen." he said, respect in his voice.

The Queen's cold smile never faltered as she leant forward to observe her most loyal subject. Then she spoke, her voice everything she looked. "You must probably be wondering why I called you here, Edmund."

"I learnt long ago that wondering will never get you anywhere. It is a pointless exercise." Edmund's voice was devoid of emotion.

"An astute observation." laughed the Queen. "Tell me Edmund, what do you know about the Pevensies?"

Edmund's eyes flashed in anger, and he said icily "I know that there are five of them. I know that they are the royal family of Cair Paravel. And I know that I want them dead." His voice rang throughout the hall, echoing off the solid walks.

Jadis sat back with a pleased smile on her face. "Well, fortunately for you, you're going to get the chance to kill them." she said, with a tiny hint of malicious pleasure.

"An assassination mission?" asked Edmund, surprised.

"Yes, if you like. I want the youngest one dead. Without her, her siblings will fall into chaos, along with her parents." There was also an another reason which the Queen did not voice. She knew that the youngest one would be the one most likely to be able to get to Edmund, so she wanted to remove the possibility of the loss of her heir.

"How do you intend for me to carry out the assassination?" asked Edmund, not at all perturbed by the concept of killing a young girl.

"Use whatever methods you want. Just as long as she dies, and that you don't go into Cair Paravel. That will most likely end in your death." _Or your identity revealed_, she added silently.

Edmund nodded, rose to his feet, bowed and exited the hall. The Queen watched him go with a muted expression of approval, watched as the guards bowed to him with a hint of fear. Any hint of his old family was gone. Purged by magic, the memories were unrecoverable, and had left no trace except for one line.

_He always was an outcast._

* * *

Edmund was thinking, whilst staring out at the training creatures. Working out a way to kill the youngest Pevensie wasn't easy. He'd have to lure her out. Use something close to her as bait. Which meant that he'd have to get to know her. Her likes, her dislikes, her passions, her friends, her life. An evil smile curled his mouth. He carried on thinking until he was interrupted by a tentative "My Lord?"

Edmund broke out of his reverie and looked at the Cyclops who had addressed him. The cold blue eyes could have made Otmin himself recoil, and the Cyclops was no exception. "What is it?" Edmund said in a bored tone.

"Do you want to spar, My Lord?" The Cyclops was unsure.

Edmund regarded the Cyclops until it started to shift uncomfortably before giving an amused smile. "I'd be delighted to." He withdrew his sword, a thin blade of dark grey which seemed to reflect no light, and stood in the middle of the courtyard watching the Cyclops calmly. The Cyclops got his axe and took a step towards Edmund. Edmund didn't move, his watchful eyes never leaving the Cyclops' own eye.

The Cyclops made the first move, attempting to cleave Edmund from head to toe. Edmund neatly sidestepped and swung his sword with unerring aim and lightning fast speed at the Cyclops' hands. This forced the Cyclops to drop the axe, which then allowed Edmund to swing his sword with deadly precision to the base of the Cyclops' throat. His facial expression didn't change a bit during the very brief fight. "Dead." Edmund said calmly, for sheathing his sword and walking off without a backward glance, seemingly unaware of the small crowd who were staring at the boy with awe, in particular, the Cyclops, who wasn't hurt in any way except pride.

He had been trained well.

**A/N: Ta da. For those of you who didn't know who Otmin was, he was the Minotaur General of the Witch's army. I am slowly becoming more and more tired, and I'm writing these later and later, and I'm slowly becoming more and more busy. Not a good combination. Anyway, Happy Pancake Day! I love pancakes. They're so pancakey. Funnily enough. I'm rambling. Signs of dementia. I already suffer from Asperger Syndrome. Why not add dementia to the mix?**


	12. Chapter 10

**A/N: Piano exam on Thursday. Yay. Average words up to 547.**

**Chapter 10**

Peter put both of his hands on the sides of the map he was studying. His brows were lowered in concentration. His soldiers were all watching him, expectancy on their faces. Peter finally spoke. "Oreius and the King have left to try and kill the boy who killed Alistair. While they're gone, we need to continue this war with no mistakes or falterings. Firstly we need to cover our borders, and we may need to send some more spies into the witch's territory, after Alistair's death." Peter finally looked up. "Am I understood?"

His soldiers all saluted, bowed, and left the room, leaving his sister, Susan behind. She had watched the proceedings with approval. "You're growing up, Pete."

Peter grunted and said "I've had to."

Susan sighed, knowing the truth of that statement. "We've all had to. Ever since we lost..." Peter trailed off.

"What do you mean, Peter? Do you mean that Aslan knew he was always going to get lost?" Susan was incredulous.

"Probably. Maybe. I don't know!" Peter raised his voice in frustration.

"Peter-"

"All I _know_ is that we ignored him. Our own brother. We never looked after him or did anything particularly family like. Maybe he wanted to get lost." said Peter, in clenched teeth, before storming out of the room.

Susan watched him leave with a sad expression on her face. Her eyes turned to the map on the table which Peter had been staring at. Sticking up from the middle of the Witch's castle was a dagger. Susan felt realisation creep into her body. _He thinks the White Witch is responsible for his disappearance._

* * *

Edmund had come up with a plan. However, to put that plan into action, he'd need to assimilate Lucy Pevensie. And for that, he'd need to draw her out of Cair Paravel. He thought of the one wolf who had seen the girl. He would know of her character. "Maugrim!" shouted Edmund. A few moments later the black wolf slinked into his room with muscular grace.

"Yes, My Lord?"

"Get Fenris. I need him." The wolf inclined his head, and ran off to find him.

Edmund stared at the wall, observing its slippery smooth surface. Wasn't ice meant to be sticky? He was about to get up and touch it when his thoughts were interrupted by "You asked for me, My Lord?"

Edmund turned his head to see a grey wolf staring at him. "Yes, I did Fenris. You met Lucy Pevensie, correct?"

"Saw her, more than met her, but yes, I did My Lord." Fenris was uncertain as to why he had been called.

"Tell me about her. Everything you noticed about her. Her manner, who was with her, her clothing, her smell, everything." Edmund demanded. So Fenris told him.

Edmund listened intently, taking note of the girl's physical appearance. Thin and delicate. Added to the fact that she had carried no weapons, Edmund was fairly sure that she had no experience in war, or any form of fight. A sneer took hold of his features as he was told of the girl's rich and fancy clothing. Impractical and empty-headed.

After hearing Fenris' final words, Edmund nodded and said "You may go."

The wolf bowed and left. Edmund deduced that the girl was young and naïve. An easy kill. He got up, strapped a knife to his thigh, hid a dagger in his sleeve and buckled on his sword. Wearing his usual clothing of black, he departed the Witch's castle without alerting anyone or anything. He moved quickly and quietly, soft and quick as a shadow. His assassination mission was underway.

* * *

"We need to separate, Oreius." The King looked up at the tall centaur standing next to him. They were both watching the figure of a boy walk across the frozen ice plain. "If Roonwit was right, killing the boy will not be an easy task."

"Yes, sire." said Oreius, who quickly turned to the left of the king, and began to run across the forest to outflank the boy.

The King watched the boy, who was continuously moving closer, and thought he recognised something in him. There was something about him which seemed strangely familiar, almost as though it were a song which he had forgotten, but was being reminded of it again for the first time in years. The sharp movements, the alert posture. Shaking his head, he silently drew his sword to prepare for the strike.

**A/N: Wow, first cliffhanger. Aren't I an evil bastard. Merry Saturday 8th March, everyone. Anyone spot the Lord of the Rings reference? I love Lord of the Rings. Look at me, using _three _line breaks in one chapter. Screw tradition. Poet, I am not.**


	13. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hi. Anything else? No? Good. Average words up to 570. Yay for me.**

**Chapter 11**

Edmund continued his calm methodical walk into the waiting trees. They were silent, almost as though they were waiting for something to happen. Edmund stopped and watched their stillness. He had learnt that the trees told much and more. He looked at the ground, and just in the range of his peripheral vision he caught a very light print of a boot. He took a step towards it and inspected it. He said nothing, until a small smile appeared on his face. "Well, I do believe I'm being followed." he said, amused. He turned round and saw the massive centaur walking towards him, twin blades held ready in the large hands. "Come to kill me?"

The centaur said nothing, merely stopping about ten metres away from him. Edmund's eyes narrowed. "If you're going to kill me, not attacking me is a foolish idea." he said, with a raised eyebrow. The centaur still said nothing, just continued to watch him.

Edmund was slightly put out. He didn't know what to make of the centaur's impassive stance. "Very well. I'll do the initiating." He drew his grey sword and waved it mockingly in the air. He watched the centaur's eyes carefully and saw when they flickered slightly to something behind him. That was what he had been waiting for. He immediately ducked and threw his left elbow backwards into his assailant's stomach.

* * *

The breath left the King's body with a gasp. He had not been expecting such fast reactions. Oreius finally charged at the boy, who danced out of the way. Oreius saw a flash of silver, before he felt a stinging pain in his left hand. Out of reflex, he dropped his sword, and saw that a dagger was embedded in his palm. Distracted, he was unable to defend against the blur of the boy's sword which promptly knocked Oreius' other sword to the ground. Just as the boy swung for the killing blow his sword was stopped by the King's own sword.

"You know, this really isn't fair, two against one." complained the boy. The King was astonished at how the boy could have so easily disarmed General Oreius. He quickly engaged in a sword fight with the mysterious boy to allow Oreius to pick his swords back up. The boy's sword slipped past the King's defences and slashed his right arm. Blood gushed out onto the frozen ground, making a red stain. The King groaned in pain, and was about to lose his head before Oreius recovered and attacked the boy himself.

The boy was much more hard pressed to deal with the centaur's two blades than the King's one. Unable to pick a fault in the boy's sword play, Oreius decided to go for brute strength and exhaust him. However, the boy was far too intelligent for this tactic, merely ducking and weaving around the centaur, taking advantage of the difference in height in a very different way to which Oreius was doing. Nonetheless, despite being an exemplary swordsman, he was still only a thirteen-year old boy, and Oreius had decades of practice with warfare. So instead of meeting the centaur's attacks dead on, he decided to dodge and avoid, waiting for the slightest mistake in Oreius' offence.

However the King had stemmed the blood flow from his arm and was walking slowly towards the fighting boy. The pale figure threw the King a scathing glance before resuming his defence. Oreius smiled, spotting a fault in the boy's swordplay, and immediately sought to exploit it by shifting forward. Unfortunately for Oreius it was a feint. One of the boy's hands quickly went to his thigh, and taking advantage of the close proximity between them, slashed at the centaur's bare chest. A red thin line appeared on Oreius' torso, as he recoiled and felt a stinging pain spread through him.

The King turned and gasped "Oreius!" Of course, that meant his attention was away from the boy.

"Your Majesty!" Oreius managed to get out, mouthing the word _no_ as a grey sword rested on the King's throat.

* * *

"I was being followed by the King? I'm flattered." said Edmund, with a cruel smirk on his lips. "Foolish of you, King to leave the safety of your castle. Now you will pay the price for your stupidity." The mocking tones angered the King, as he prepared for his death.

"FIRE!" came a great shout from within the trees.

Edmund's head snapped up and his eyes widened at the barrage of arrows shooting directly towards him. He dived out of the way, hissing when two of the arrows pierced his leg. A party of six Fauns emerged from the trees, all with bows drawn. Edmund tried to stand, but his injured leg couldn't take the strain, and he collapsed against the ground again. For the first time his eyes showed a hint of fear. "MAUGRIM!" he roared. A faint, answering howl was heard from within the Witch's palace.

The Fauns quickly gathered the injured centaur and ran back into the trees. The King looked back at Edmund for a few seconds with exhausted eyes until he shook his head and turned to depart as well. Edmund growled, pulled back his hand and threw the dagger with unerring aim towards the King's heart. "Sire!" yelled one of the Fauns, jumping into the path of the dagger. It slipped between his ribs with a muted thud. He was dead before he hit the ground.

The King looked at Edmund with wide eyes, before quickly removing the dagger from the dead Faun's heart and following his saviours.

"Loyal to the end." said Edmund between clenched teeth as he glared at the Faun's corpse. He heard panting from behind him. He tried to turn but found himself too weak to. "Get... them..." he managed, before his vision dimmed, and with a final groan he fell unconscious.

**A/N: Yes, I know it's been a long wait, but I've been very busy with my school work. And this chapter is the longest I've done so far. So yeah. That makes up for it, doesn't it? Or am I being stupid? Wait, of course I'm not being stupid. I am God, therefore I cannot be stupid. My logic is infallible. Hush. I'm mad.**


	14. Chapter 12

**A/N: Average words up to 615. It's going up! Oh, and Edmund isn't Jadis' son. Merely the heir. I thought having him as her son would make the story too similar to some other ones.**

**Chapter 12**

Edmund felt a wet nose lightly brush against his cheek. "My Lord?" rumbled the familiar voice of Maugrim. Edmund's eyes flickered open, and found himself face to face with a large wolf's muzzle. With a groan he sat up. He looked at his leg, bandaged and still wounded. That would cause some issues.

"What happened?" he asked, emotionlessly.

"Their trail disappeared." Maugrim said quietly.

"Disappeared." Edmund repeated. His blue eyes narrowed and went dangerously cold.

Knowing what was about to come, Maugrim quickly offered an explanation. "We didn't lose it, My Lord. It just vanished. One moment it was easy to follow, the next we got nothing." A sign of Edmund's reputation - He had the Captain of the Secret Police stammering.

Edmund's eyebrows met. He knew Maugrim wouldn't be stupid enough to lie to him. ""Vanished…" said Edmund softly, staring at the ice wall. It gleamed back at him, reflecting the dim light effectively. "Maugrim... the wall is wet." Edmund's voice had, for the first time, gone slightly uncertain, traces of the thirteen-year old boy he really was showing.

Maugrim also turned to the wall, and his eyes widened as he saw that the boy was right. "Why would the wall be wet, My Lord?" He was an intelligent wolf, and had worked out that the wall being wet would not be a good thing, but having lived in the cold all his life, he was unable to comprehend the concept of warmth.

Edmund's face was grim as he limped over to it, and he lightly pressed his forefinger against the surface. The finger slid down the wall slightly. He looked at his finger, and it too glistened with light. "It's melting."

* * *

"You shouldn't have sent those Fauns, Pete." Susan's voice was acerbic.

"You know I had no choice, Susan." Peter grumbled. "I wasn't going to let my father go and kill someone by himself, especially after the stories we've been hearing." More rumours were flitting around the castle, most of them surrounding the mysterious boy. He was a ruthless killer, a master of the blade, merciless, had killed one of the King's hunting parties by himself, and more. Peter wasn't one to believe in the common gossip, but there was something the way that these rumours were told that made him believe them.

"Peter, you know as well as I do that father wasn't alone. He had Oreius with him." Susan's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"I know that Susan. But even so. The boy's likely to be heavily guarded. The Witch won't want her heir to be killed." His voice was angry.

Susan sighed and looked at her brother. His blond hair was ruffled, his eyes were tired and there were dark shadows under them. She knew that his worry of their father had been keeping him up. Susan, who had also heard the rumours was equally worried about their father, but was able to keep slightly calmer about it. But there was something else to Peter's face that made her look again. The worry on his face was too much for him to show.

"You're scared that we're going to lose him like Ed, aren't you?" Susan asked softly.

Peter said nothing, but his hands clenched into fists, staring at the ceiling, as he had done all those years when he had learnt that Edmund was missing.

Susan sighed and walked to the door. Before she left she said, "We won't lose him, Pete. He's a more than capable fighter, and we both know that Oreius' skills are unmatched. They'll survive and return. You'll see." She left the room, quietly closing the door behind her.

Peter didn't move. Susan's comforting had slightly alleviated his anxiety, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen - or had already happened.

* * *

The five Fauns struggled with the weight of the massive centaur. Unconscious, the dagger had cut a strip of flesh from his body, causing him to lose exuberant amounts of blood. Barely alive, he fought death with every breath. The King followed behind the Fauns, worried eyes on the prone centaur's form. He sighed and thought back to the boy. The familiarity of his being, the cruel taunting, the pale skin, the inhuman swordplay. All of it reminded him of something, but he had no idea what. As it often did, an image of his lost son drifted through his mind.

_Edmund sitting on the rock, staring at the ocean with calculative eyes. Emotionless. An outcast._

The King flinched as he always did at that vision. He had looked so lonely.

The forest was becoming lighter. Slowly their surroundings changed into the recognisable castle grounds. The King sighed again, but with relief this time. He immediately turned to the Fauns and said, "Get Oreius to Shanza. Now."

The Fauns inclined their heads and continued their pace to the castle's healer. The King watched them leave, even after they had disappeared from sight. He sat against a tree and pulled out the dagger that the boy had thrown at him. It was a dark grey, and seemed to reflect no light. It was a slender knife, beautiful and deadly. He had no idea what the metal was, or what the inscriptions on it meant. The runes were alien to him. He suspected that not even the castle's historian would be able to translate them. His eye once again caught the blankness of the colour. Running his finger against the flat side, he felt that it was icy. Making up his mind, he decided to take it to the castle's blacksmith. If anyone knew what the metal was, it would be him.

**A/N: Can't think of anything funny or interesting to write. Except I've got a stack load of homework to do. Anyone any good at Biology?**


	15. Chapter 13

**A/N: You disappoint me, my reviewers. How can none of you know anything about Biology? You should be ashamed of yourselves. Average words up to 641. I might as well keep you guys as updated as I keep myself. I like facts and figures. It's 8,975 divided by 14. Total number of words over the total number of chapters. That's the mean. Little Maths lesson for you incompetent children. Mean formula = (Sigma f multiplied by x) divided by Sigma f. Yay Maths. I would be a good teacher. Note the sarcasm. I had a Maths today. And it was awful.**

**Chapter 13**

"I have no idea, Your Majesty." Cair Paravel's royal blacksmith was studying the boy's grey dagger with an expression of bewilderment.

"None?" replied the King is disbelief.

The blacksmith shook his head, completely flummoxed. "All I can tell you, Sire, is that the metal of the blade is virtually indestructible, not to mention very light. I've never seen anything like it before." The Satyr raised his eyes to his King and requested, "May I have more time to study it? It's fascinating." The King nodded stiffly. The Satyr bowed as the King left, striding through the door, no wiser than when he had entered.

Shaking the matter of the boy's dagger from his head, he walked through the intricately designed halls of Cair Paravel, mind flowing with images of his family. He first walked to the war study, knowing Peter would be there. His eldest son fancied himself as a battle general, and as far as the King could see, he had done quite a good job of it. He heard voices coming from the room, and slowly opened the door.

"Father?"

Maugrim snarled as he wrestled the other wolf into submission. He had failed the Witch's heir. Failed. His muzzled wrinkled as he bared his teeth to his adversary. He couldn't let him down again. His mind drifted back to the point in time when Edmund had earned his unswerving loyalty.

_He was surrounded. Weapons all pointed at him. Naked steel pricked his hide as he yelped in pain. Blood leaked from his side and his snout. Lying on his side and his life slowly drained out of him. Just as one of the swords was drawn back to strike, another sword went through the chest of the bearer. This one was a dark grey, slim and sharp. The Satyr's sword arm spasmed, and the weapon left his feeble grip as he collapsed onto the floor, revealing a nine-year old boy with a dripping blade. The same dark grey. The other Satyr's were startled at the interruption, and quickly directed their weapons towards the newcomer._

_The boy just stood there, before he nodded. Ten shadows darted from the bushes and leapt on the Satyrs' bodies. Ignoring the proceedings around him, the boy walked to Maugrim and inspected him. "Was that subtle enough, Maugrim?" The voice was quiet, and had a slight hint of concern in it. _

_The injured wolf choked out a laugh, before whispering, "More than enough, Edmund."_

Maugrim owed Edmund his life, and would not fail him again. He slammed down his opponent on the ground with a final growl.

Edmund stared at his leg. He was still unable to run with it, but considering he had been pierced by two arrows, it was odd that he could walk at all. Waiting within the woods, barely a league from Cair Paravel, he stared at the castle in revulsion. Somewhere in there, were the Pevensies. The royal family. The ones who had killed many of the wolf pack, his friends. He twirled his remaining dagger in his hand. Staring at it, he thought to himself.

He had seen the King's face before. An image flashed in his mind.

_Warm, brown eyes staring at him with sand surrounding him._

Edmund staggered against a tree and breathed heavily. He growled in anger at his complacency, knowing it would get him killed if such a thing happened again. Shaking his head, he returned his gaze to the ostentatious castle. _Not yet…_

**A/N: Wow a long wait. Of course, no one particularly cares so I don't. What do you all think of Maugrim's little part? I thought that might be a bit of an explanation as to why Maugrim is so nice and lenient with Edward. Quite a few flashbacks in this chapter. May seem odd, but it was spontaneous. And for those of you who wanted a sentimental sappy part where the King reunited with his family, you've got the wrong story. I'm not the one for sentimentality, and if I did try to write it, it would be awful and cheesy. I'm sure that your imaginations can fill in the blanks, and if not then congratulations, you're like me. High-five.**


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